1. Sponsored by

2. A New Look at Sustainable
Food Systems
November 14, 2011
Panelists:
Moderator:
Jeanine Davis
Keith Collins Jack Britt
Tony McGaha

3. Sustainable food systems…to feed the billions.
• Intensification of agriculture
• Examples of improved sustainability in US food systems
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
• Examples of three different food systems
Blue Ridge
• Tomatoes and tomato products
• Milk and dairy products
• Beef and beef products

4. Intense agriculture reduced carbon footprint for feeding the world
Greenhouse Gas Mitigation by Agricultural Intensification
Jennifer A. Burney, Steven J. Davis and David B. Lobella
Stanford University, Stanford, CA and Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, CA
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Greater
Than
Land
Mass
Of
Russia
“…the net effect of higher yields has avoided emissions of 590 Gt CO2e since 1961.”
Source: www.pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.0914216107 published 2010

5. Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
So how are we doing in the U.S. ?
Blue Ridge

6. Farms and farmland in the United States, 2007
Ownership Type No. Farms % of Farms Acres % of Acres
Family or individual 1,906,335 86% 574,150,050 62%
Partnership 174,247 8% 161,416,999 18%
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Corporation* 96,074 4% 125,319,200 14%
Other** 28,136 1% 61,208,981 7%
2,204,792 100% 922,095,230 100%
*91% are family corporations **cooperative, estate, trust, institutional, etc.
Buncombe County has enough farmland to support a population of 31,600,
based on U.S. average of 3 acres of farmland per person.
Source: 2007 Census of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistical Service, USDA.
http://www.agcensus.usda.gov/Publications/2007/Full_Report/usv1.pdf

7. Changes in land use in the United States 1982-2007
U.S. Population Grew 30% During this Period
-8%
-2% No
change
+55%
Sustainability Institute
-19% 11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
+17%
+140%
Cultivated Rangeland Forest Land Non-cultivated CRP Land Pasture Developed
Cropland Cropland Land Land
Source: Dale et al. Ecological Applications 24: 1039-1054, 2011.

8. How is the U.S. doing in production and sustainability?
Rank in
Examples of US Agriculture Rank World
Arable and permanent cropland 1
Sustainability Institute
Corn production, soybean production
11/14/2011 1
Blue Ridge
Milk yield per cow 1
Tractors 1
Meat production 2
Fresh citrus 2
Organic cropland 4
Fertilizer use per hectare of cropland 40
Pesticide use per hectare of cropland 43
Source: United Nations FAO most recent reports.

9. US excels in sustainability measures: GHG production by
dairy systems across regions of the world
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
C & S America
N Africa &W Asia
N America
Subsar Africa
E Europe
Russian Fed
South Asia
W Europe
Oceania
East Asia
World
Source: FAO 2010. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from the Dairy Sector - A Life Cycle Assessment

10. Improvements in on-farm measures of sustainability
by the US dairy farms from 1944 to 2007
Item 1944 2007 Change, %
U.S. milk production, 53 84 +58%
billion kg
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Resources per billion kg of milk
Blue Ridge
Cows, thousands 415 94 -77%
Feed, billion kg 8.3 1.9 -77%
Manure, billion kg 7.9 1.9 -76%
Carbon footprint, 3.7 1.4 -62%
billion kg CO2
Source: Capper, J. L., R. A. Cady, and D. E. Bauman. 2009. The environmental impact of dairy production:
1944 compared with 2007. Journal of Animal Science doi:10.2527/jas.2009-1781

11. Sustainability of Food System ?
? Processing
Supermarket
Farm Distribution
Supermarket
Center
Supermarket
Farm Processing Supermarket
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Distribution
Center
Supermarket
Farm
Processing Supermarket
Farm
Direct
?
Consumer
Sales
Farm

12. Tomato Production and Products
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Dr. Jeanine Davis
Blue Ridge
Associate Professor & Extension Specialist

13. Blue Ridge
50,000
100,000
150,000
200,000
250,000
300,000
350,000
400,000
0
California
Florida
Indiana
Ohio
Michigan
Georgia
Virginia
New Jersey
Tennessee
Tomatoes, acres, 2007
North Carolina
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
New York
Minnesota
11/14/2011
85% of U.S. tomatoes
Texas
are produced in two states
Alabama
Arkansas
Kentucky
Illinois
Maryland
Hawaii
Connecticut
Massachusetts
Missouri
Mississippi
Wisconsin
Oregon
Colorado
Washington
Oklahoma
Louisiana
New Mexico
West Virginia
Iowa
Maine
Utah
New Hampshire
Kansas
Rhode Island
Delaware
Nebraska
Vermont
Arizona
Montana
Idaho
South Dakota
Nevada
North Dakota Sustainability Institute

14. Americans eat about 20 pounds of
tomatoes per person, per year. Three-
quarters of that is in processed
form, e.g., ketchup, salsa, and sauce.

15. Where do all these tomatoes come from?
• The U.S. produces about 2 million
tons of fresh market tomatoes and
12 million tons of processing
tomatoes each year.
• We also import almost $900 million
worth of tomatoes annually, mostly
from Canada, Mexico, and the
Netherlands.
• Florida and California and the
major tomato producing states;
comprising over 2/3 of all the
tomatoes grown in the U.S.
• California produces 95% of the
processing tomatoes.

16. Could we produce all the tomatoes
we need within our own county?
• In Buncombe county, we would need to devote
about 25% of our existing vegetable acreage to
tomatoes.
• In Mecklenburg County, however, 6X the existing
vegetable acreage in the county would be needed
to provide for their population.
• To provide for all 9.5 million people in the state, we
would only need 4,768 acres of tomatoes.

17. We could produce all the tomatoes
we currently consume, but…
• For fresh-market tomatoes, it
would cost us
more, especially in the off-
season, and we‟d have to
convince more farmers to
grow them, but we could do
it.
• For us to produce all the
processed tomato products
we consume would be much
more difficult and costly;
• we would need to develop
new varieties and production
methods, build processing
plants, etc.

18. So what does it cost for
us, environmentally and socially, to
maintain the status quo, i.e., have just
two states provide a ready supply of
cheap tomatoes?
• Let‟s focus on California processing tomato
production since that really is the giant in the
industry.
Photo from GrowingProduce.com

19. Value-Chains for California tomatoes
Note how much
of the path is
oriented
towards
marketers and
processors.
Graph from „A Value Chain Analysis of Selected California Crops‟ by M. Lowe and G. Gereffi, Duke University, 2008

20. Water Use
Tomatoes are
always
irrigated and
are mostly
water, so
expected this
to be much
higher!
Graph from „A Value Chain Analysis of Selected California Crops‟ by M. Lowe and G. Gereffi, Duke University, 2008

21. Nitrogen fertilizer use
Fertilizer use is
very high! Run-
off, groundwater
contamination, a
nd fossil fuel
consumption
during
manufacturing
are big
concerns.
This could be
reduced with
conservation
tillage, drip-
irrigation, and
new varieties.
Graph from „A Value Chain Analysis of Selected California Crops‟ by M. Lowe and G. Gereffi, Duke University, 2008

22. What about „food miles‟
and greenhouse gas emissions?
• Many studies have demonstrated that agricultural
production accounts for the bulk of the food
system's greenhouse gas emissions; 80% or more
of emissions occur before the product even leaves
the farm.
• In most cases, transportation plays a relatively
minor role.
Photo from Western Farm Press

23. Overall environmental impacts
• In 1998 the Swedish Institute for Food and
Biotechnology published a lifecycle analysis on
tomato ketchup.
• “The results showed that it was the hidden (and thus
largely ignored by consumers) aspects of the
product – its processing as well as its primary and
secondary packaging along the supply chain – that
had the most devastating consequences for climate
and the environment.”
Quote from Pat Thomas, Behind the Label: Tomato Ketchup, The Ecologist, 2010

24. What about social issues, such as
how much are field workers paid?
Workers on large
Tomato Farming Labor Wages
(U.S. Dollars) farms are usually
paid less and
there are many
6.6
6.5 Industrial issues about the
U.S.
6.4
Dollars 6.3
Farm s number of hours
per Hour 6.2
6.1
Local Farm s worked, pesticide
6
exposure, and
working and
living conditions.
Graph from The Underlying Costs of Tomatoes, a report by Amanda Collins, Edgewood College, 2005

25. What is a sustainable tomato
production system?
• There is no simple answer.
• It‟s not just “local” versus “industrialized”.
• Lots of issues to consider and they are all
interconnected.
• We‟ve done a good job of raising awareness.
• New studies will help us define what direction we
need to go.

26. Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Milk and Dairy Products
Blue Ridge
Mr. Keith Collins
President, Milkco Inc.

27. Blue Ridge
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
5,000
0
California:
Wisconsin:
New York:
Pennsylvania:
Idaho:
Minnesota:
New Mexico:
states
Michigan:
Texas: Milk, Million Pounds
Washington:
is produced in 5
Ohio: 52% of U.S. milk
Iowa:
Arizona:
Indiana:
Vermont:
Oregon:
11/14/2011
Florida:
Kansas:
Colorado:
Illinois:
Missouri:
Virginia:
Utah:
Kentucky:
Georgia:
South Dakota:
Oklahoma:
Maryland:
Tennessee:
Nebraska:
North Carolina:
Maine:
North Dakota:
Nevada:
Louisiana:
Connecticut:
Mississippi:
Montana:
Arkansas:
New Hampshire:
Massachusetts:
South Carolina:
Alabama:
New Jersey:
West Virginia:
Delaware:
Hawaii:
Wyoming:
Rhode Island:
Alaska:
Sustainability Institute

28. Blue Ridge
Number of Milk Bottling Plants
0
5,000
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
6,000
7,000
8,000
9,000
1950
1952
1954
1956
1958
1960
1962
1964
1966
11/14/2011
1968
1970
1972
1974
1976
1978
Million Lbs
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
Milk Bottling Plants
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2002
2004
2006
2008
0
50
100
150
200
Million Pounds Processed Per Plant
Sustainability Institute

29. Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Milk and Dairy Products
Blue Ridge
Mr. Keith Collins
President, Milkco Inc.

30. Beef Production and Products
Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Mr. Tony McGaha
Extension Agent, Agriculture, Haywood County

31. Blue Ridge
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0
Texas
Oklahoma
Missouri
Nebraska
South Dakota
Kansas
Montana
Kentucky
8 states
Tennessee
Beef cows 1000 hd
53% of beef
cows are in
Arkansas
Florida
North Dakota
Iowa
Colorado
Wyoming
11/14/2011
Virginia
Alabama
California
Oregon
Georgia
Mississippi
New Mexico
Louisiana
Idaho
Minnesota
Illinois
North Carolina
Utah
Ohio
Wisconsin
Nevada
Washington
Indiana
West Virginia
South Carolina
Arizona
Pennsylvania
Michigan
New York
Hawaii
Maryland
Maine
Vermont
New Jersey
Massachusetts
Alaska
Connecticut
Delaware
New Hampshire
Rhode Island
Sustainability Institute

32. Blue Ridge
0
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
500
Texas
Nebraska
Kansas
Iowa
Colorado
California
Cattle on feed, 1000 hd
South Dakota
Oklahoma
56% of cattle on
Minnesota
feed are in 3 states
Arizona
11/14/2011
Idaho
Wisconsin
Washington
Michigan
Ohio
Illinois
Indiana
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Wyoming
North Dakota
Missouri
Montana
New York
Utah
Virginia
Kentucky
Maryland
Tennessee
Nevada
Arkansas
West Virginia
Sustainability Institute

33. Cow-Calf Background
Stocker
Supermarket
Farm Packer
Farm
Distribution
Supermarket
CAFO
Center
Supermarket
Farm Further
Processing Supermarket
Sustainability Institute
Feedlot
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Distribution
Supermarket
Farm
Farm Center
Value Supermarket
Added
Farm
CAFO
Direct Consumer
Farm
Sales
Farm
Beef System from Farm to Consumer

34. Sustainability Institute
11/14/2011
Blue Ridge
Questions & Discussion